Oakland A’s: Frankie Montas cannot be trusted in postseason
At this point, it is difficult to imagine the Oakland A’s trusting Frankie Montas during the upcoming postseason.
Frankie Montas was expected to play a key part in the Oakland A’s rotation this year. The Opening Day starter was expected to serve as their ace, pairing with Sean Manaea to provide a formidable duo atop the rotation.
While Manaea struggled to begin the year, Montas lived up to his end of the bargain. Through his first four starts, he had allowed just four runs on 14 hits and nine walks in his 23 innings, striking out 22 batters. He threw seven innings in both his third and fourth starts of the year and seemed poised to build on his breakthrough 2019 campaign.
Then disaster struck. He missed his next start due to back issues, something that he and the A’s downplayed as a minor ailment. His performance in his first outing back, when he allowed nine runs on six hits and four walks while recording just five outs.
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It was not just one bad start for Montas. He has lasted into the sixth inning just once, and has only completed five innings twice in his past six outings. In that time frame, he has allowed 29 runs on 39 hits and 12 walks over his 24 innings. While he has struck out 25 batters, he has also allowed ten home runs.
Montas’ struggles put the A’s in a tough spot as the postseason approaches. Without any days off in the first two rounds, they already need to determine whether or not a four or five man rotation would be their best option. Montas, in theory, should be a part of that rotation.
But at this point, he cannot be trusted. The A’s will need to win based on their pitching, and they have the horses to do just that. Meanwhile, they do not have the offense to be able to consistently score more than a run per inning. As Montas is allowing exactly that, the A’s cannot afford to give him a start in the postseason.
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The Oakland A’s had high hopes for Frankie Montas this year. At this point, they cannot trust him once the playoffs begin.